Steelers got who they wanted in Bush
PITTSBURGH — After intercepting only eight passes last season to match the 1940 all-time team low, the Pittsburgh Steelers went into the first round of the draft looking for a defensive playmaker.
And so they used their first and second-round picks this year, and their third-round pick next year, to acquire one player who intercepted all of one pass in three years as a college starter.
Ohhhhhh, c’mon, man.
Lol, just kidding. I’m not going to rain on this parade because Devin Bush was the apple of the Steelers’ eye — and they got him.
Yes, this was a good move, a great move, by the Steelers, and for so many reasons.
First, Bush gives them speed on the second level, and like the man — a man, some man — said, if you don’t have speed at inside linebacker, you have a slow defense.
Is that a stretch?
“I think that’s a fair statement,” Mike Tomlin said after drafting the inside linebacker. “I just believe by the virtue of their positioning, be it in the rush and in coverage, the ability to play what’s in front of them and play sideline to sideline, their speed is impactful probably on a larger percentage of plays than people who don’t play in the middle of the field at the second level of play.”
Bush most certainly is a lightning bolt. Yes, at 5-11, he’s the shortest linebacker ever drafted in the first round, but at 4.43 in the 40, carrying 234 pounds, he’s also one of the fastest.
Devin White, who was drafted fifth Thursday night, ran a 4.42 on the same day. Ryan Shazier, according to the Steelers on draft day 2014, was timed at the Ohio State pro day at 4.40.
We saw Shazier’s suddenness, and it was shocking at times. And of course we know about the injury that befell him in his last game that 2017 season.
While he’s making a remarkable recovery, and hopes to play again, it’s unlikely. The Steelers, saddened and perhaps feeling slighted by losing someone so special, made a bold move Thursday night to get that special-ness back.
They had tried last year to trade up for a linebacker, but were foiled by the Baltimore Ravens. Strangely, the Steelers didn’t draft a linebacker the rest of that draft.
Maybe it was because they already had Bush in mind.
“We identified Devin going back into last year when we watched him as an underclassman,” GM Kevin Colbert said of the 2017 Michigan season. “Coach had a handle on him coming into this season. We scouted him extensively. We had four different people go in during the fall, myself included. We saw him play live games, visited with him at the Combine, we visited with him the night before his pro day, and of course attended his pro day. This is a quality young man who’s really an excellent football player. As an inside linebacker, his game is really predicated on what is needed to play the position in modern-day NFL football because he cannot only play the run, he’s got exceptional coverage abilities and he can also rush the passer.
“Very, very excited that we were able to move up and be able to get a young player, a young man, like Devin Bush.”
As noted, height doesn’t matter much in today’s game. It’s all about speed and smarts. But even at 5-11, Bush’s wingspan measured 5/8 of an inch wider than the 6-0 White’s.
Fractions of an inch aside, Bush still only broke up 11 passes in three seasons at Michigan. That’s according to College Football Reference. According to analyst Dane Brugler, Bush broke up 15 passes. And according to the Steelers, Bush broke up 17 passes.
These minor details matter little because the Steelers got their speed backer. And they got more. Much more. They restored pride in the organization.
Sure, it sounds overwrought. That pride wasn’t really lost, at least not in my eyes. But one could sense the coach and the GM as being eager to please Thursday night. They realize their fan base had lost some respect for the organization throughout the Le’Veon Bell and Antonio Brown fiascos. As much as we try to fight it, perception really does become reality.
In fact, the Steelers are still taking cyber blows from Brown, and they still are not responding. They look weak taking it from this bully, but their plan is to let their actions do their talking this season.
Thursday night was their first action. Trading that much to move up to pick 10 for Bush was just flat bold.
The move was expensive. They traded a second and 2020 third-rounder to move up 10 spots. In 2003, they traded only a third and a sixth to move up 11 spots for Troy Polamalu.
But I’m willing to consider this slight overreach a bit of payback for the earlier theft.
Either way, this minor detail, again, doesn’t matter because this move means so much more for the defense, clearly, but also for the organization, and, frankly, for the city and its enormous fan base.
When Colbert was asked if he feels the same way he did after the Polamalu and Santonio Holmes trade-ups, the only other first-round trade-ups in franchise history, he said, “We’ll see. If Devin helps us win a Super Bowl, it will be very similar.”
Not too much pressure, eh Devin? Go replace a man who might just be the most respected athlete in Pittsburgh, and after that win a Super Bowl. Your legacy depends on it.
No doubt it’s unfair to put so much on the shoulders of a young man who won’t turn 21 until July, but Bush seems to have wide enough shoulders, and of course the wingspan, for it.
He’s the son of a former first-round pick, Devin Bush Sr., who played in two Super Bowls and won one with the St. Louis Rams following the 1999 season. Bush Jr. has been groomed for this day, and he was all business last night in responding to questions about replacing the highly respected, legendary, Ohio State man.
“I feel like Ryan Shazier was a great player, still is, and hope to see him soon,” Bush said. “Wish all the best to Ryan Shazier and his recovery. I know he’s going to do well. Being a south Florida guy, and Ryan being south Florida guy, I know he has the heart to, and the will to, and he will be back.
“I’m just ready to be Devin Bush,” Devin Bush added. “I’m not trying to compare myself to Ryan Shazier or anybody else. I’m going to come in and be Devin Bush.”
That’s all the Steelers want.
Oh, and a couple interceptions would be nice.